Emotionless
by SeBriar
Summary: New to the superhero gig, Boomer is desperate to prove his worth to his brothers, the girls, and everyone in Townsville. What happens when this want is manipulated into being taken too far? It's always the quiet ones. Rated for language and gore.
1. His Faults

**Title:** Emotionless  
><strong>Chapter One: <strong>His Faults

_**Standard Disclaimers Apply**_

He was...hollow. There was nothing inside him.

He could not remember the names and faces of people he had once known; had once pledged to protect.

They stared up at him with terror in their unfamiliar eyes -those who paused to look up into the face of their destruction, that is. Most simply ran from him without sparing more than a second to glance fearfully back to see if he would give chase.

He continued his purge mindlessly, teetering on the verge of boredom.

* * *

><p>The screams of the citizens had long since become a mindless drone in the back of his head that was beginning to obnoxiously beat itself against his skull until a headache was on the verge of forming. Still, Boomer tried his best to ignore it and forced himself to give his undivided attention to their current situation.<p>

_Today was the day, _he thought with anticipation blooming beneath his ribs. Today was the day he would finally prove to EVERYONE just how strong he was. Too many times had his short attention span caused his many failures in his new occupation as a hero of Townsville. Butch and Brick had molded into the job relatively easily but he was still stuck making rookie mistakes. Well, no more! Today he would show them, and everyone else, what he could really do.

Mojo sent Blossom and Buttercup hurtling toward the ground with a giant metallic backhand from his latest robot likeness of himself. Boomer chose this moment, while his brothers were distracted with pulling the girls out of the concrete, to make his move. As he rushed at the cause of all the destruction he imagined the praise he would receive in taking down his first creator singlehandedly; he imagined the cheers of the citizens when he saved them all on his own. 'BOOMER! BOOMER!' They would shout.

He was sent crashing into the closest office building by a well aimed blast from the robot's built in ray gun, distracted as he was from his daydreaming. Bubbles was by his side in an instant, asking if he was okay; she'd been previously escorting the citizens trapped beneath rubble or blocked by the robot's presence to safety.

From outside he could here Blossom and Brick shouting out orders that he was sure he didn't want to miss. Boomer shrugged off Bubbles' concern and flew back into the fray, the Puff right beside him and looking rather dejected with his attitude.

Quickly spotting them, Brick yelled for them to attack in the formation they'd gone over just the night before. The two blonde superheroes were quick to follow his orders. Boomer let a small smile grace his face, encouraged by the fact that for once he knew his part well and surely wouldn't be able to mess anything up. _I'll would finally show them_; the words rang excitedly in his inner ear with an echoing beat.

Except…nothing turned out the way he'd wanted. Bubbles and Boomer's tasks worked around each other, and their part was arguably the most important. They were both supposed to attack from a higher point in the sky. Bubbles was to use her laser vision on the point where Mojo's reinforced glass shelter that housed him met the metal of the robotic body, and she played her part flawlessly. The heat made the metal more malleable which would enable Boomer to cast dents upon the surface, making the attachment less sound and easier to pull off the glass if they all worked together. Mojo had learned many new tricks and experimented with new materials over the years, so it took more than just smashing through the glass and tossing him around to defeat him like in the old days.

The only rift in Brick and Blossom's plan was Boomer's unpredictable attention span. The blonde Ruff had gotten better since childhood, but still struggled in keeping focused on important tasks when there were large, distracting things in the vicinity. Mojo's robot arms swinging wildly in the air as Buttercup and Butch landed hits on both sides was probably a good example.

Boomer's attacks were slow and contained only half his strength as he paid close attention to how his green brother's attacks constantly made the robot stumble backwards from the force of his hits. Buttercup did not hold anything back either, despite her role as a simple distraction so he and Bubbles could get their job done without any trouble.

At one point the two attacked the metal together, effectively denting it with the power of both their fists and momentum without the use of heat. This was a feat, seeing as the metal was supposed to be Puff/Ruff proof.

It didn't take long for Boomer to become completely enraptured with the toughest members of their team and their bullish fighting style. A sharp stab of envy settled uncomfortably inside him.

So inattentive was he to his own task that his hits came too slow after Bubbles systematically heated the metal, making it so the only damage he was doing was to his own fists. The pain of the light bruises littering his knuckles didn't even register in his mind.

He didn't notice when Bubbles began frantically calling his name to warn him of his 'eldest' brother's approach until it was too late and Brick was floating right in front of him, arms crossed, and looking pretty irritated with his lack of progress.

"What the hell are you doing?" The red ruff hissed angrily, gesturing to the rather unblemished metal that should've been riddled with dents with the amount of time he'd been given to do it.

Boomer winced at the rebuke, hanging his head in disappointment in himself. He'd let himself get distracted _again_! "I'm sorry, I-" Brick didn't allow him to finish his…his what? His excuse? That's all it really could've been.

"I think you should sit this one out Boomer."

The words tore through him like a chainsaw in the hands of a hockey mask-wearing psycho. That was the only comparison that really came to mind for Boomer because it felt just as horrific and painful as it must have been for the victims of such cruelty. "No! I-I can still…" Boomer tried to plead with his leader, but one look at the narrowing red eyes of his brother had his words trailing off.

Brick turned his head to the side; an obvious dismissal. So that was it; he was just kicked out of the fight? He could still help! He…he could! He hadn't gotten to show them yet...

But Boomer didn't argue further, even as Brick commanded Buttercup to take his place and Butch continued his frontal attack. Even as Blossom, who had just joined them to see what the problem was, and Bubbles, who was at his side, gave him what appeared to be pitying looks.

The blonde Ruff took off into the sky, away from sight of Mojo's robot being quickly and efficently taken down and the monkey's shouts of indignity. He just kept flying until he was far enough away that the giant robot's body was only a speck of black towering over some of the damaged buildings.

He came to a stop just over an area of the town that he recognized as the square. It held a polished fountain in the middle of the stone walkways and was encircled by wooden benches. He lowered himself until he was seated upon one, staring blankly at the continuously flowing water for what felt like hours, lost in his thoughts of his most recent flop that only added to his high stack of failures that just _had_ to be on the verge of toppling over.

He fervently wished that he had the mental capacity to overcome his short attention span that _always_ seemed to come up at the worst moments.

A butterfly flew into his field of vision without any warning and landed on his nose. Its wings delicately flapped to further capture his interest. He went cross-eyed in order to better see the creature he had always been so fascinated with. It was a shame that this fascination had many times been the cause for property damage done to the city.

He wasn't sure what it was really; he just really liked butterflies. They were amazing in the way they flew with somewhat jerky movements, their wings always some new kind of beautiful pattern that he couldn't help but commit to memory so as to recognize his frequent visitors individually.

Little known to most, Boomer shared Bubbles' power for talking to other species; but his was only with insects and arachnids. Also, although they could understand him, he could not them. He usually got the gist of what they were saying to him though after years of practice and playing impromptu games of charades in order to communicate back to them.

His little friend who had visited him today was one who came to find him often, no matter where he was. He'd given it the name 'Shadow', since it seemed to stalk him. Shadow had beautiful wings of blue and yellow splashes of colors, which only helped the small creature in earning the teen's favor when they'd first met many years ago.

Boomer did not know if butterflies had genders, but Shadow seemed to fancy itself as a female and did not protest when Boomer referred to it s such. Today she stared at Boomer in a questioning sort of way; she was asking why he seemed so melancholy.

He answered her in detail, expressing his gloom about being unable to prove himself to his siblings, despite trying so hard as of late. When Boomer suggested in an offhand sort of way that perhaps he wasn't cut out to be a hero, Shadow batted her wings against his cheeks, her expression clearly admonishing for the line of thought. She pushed off from his nose and made a series of twitchy movements that to anyone else would look like the creature was doing some odd sort of dance.

Boomer translated the dance to mean roughly: **_I have told you not to think so lowly of yourself. You do a lot of good for this town by simply being who you are. Do not hate yourself for that._**

He was about to answer her, probably with an argument about him doing _anything _good for anyone, when someone interrupted them.

The stranger was tall, standing at least six feet in height; Boomer was probably a foot shorter the man smiling down at him. He had slightly graying hair and wore a long black coat with a briefcase swinging idly in his left hand.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but you are Boomer, right? One of the Rowdyruff Boys who protects our fair city along with the Powerpuff Girls?"

Boomer didn't answer right away. Shadow had to poke him in his temple with one of her tiny appendages to remind him that just staring at someone in surprise was not an appropriate thing to do when asked a question. He swallowed with difficulty and stammered to answer. "Oh! Ah, ye-yes, I'm…I'm Boomer."

The man nodded, his smile stretching a little wider. He dug into his pocket, pulling out an iPod that looked brand new. It was a royal blue and Boomer's eyes were riveted to the device the second it was made visible.

"I bought this for my son for his birthday, but his mother already got him one without my knowledge. I was going to return it, but…" He stretched the hand holding the iPod out to Boomer, and the blonde stared uncomprehendingly at it for a few seconds. The man took hold of the boy's limp hand and placed the music player into his palm, closing the fingers around it. Boomer looked up at him in disbelief; the man was clearly amused by his expression. Shadow peered down curiously from his hair at the gift.

The blue Ruff found his voice after a moment, shaking his head vigorously as if to shake off the man's kindness –nearly dislodging his friend- and tried to hand the iPod back. "I can't take this, Sir. These are expensive right? I…I can't just… I mean..."

However, the man only shook his head in a much calmer fashion than Boomer had only seconds ago and said, "It's fine. Think of it as a thank you for all the good you do. You may not remember it, but you saved my life when a building was about to fall on top of me a few months back. I really appreciate it."

Boomer sat stunned at first, then nodded in slow acceptance, a wide smile forming on his face. "Um, okay, thanks! It was no problem really; it's my job." He said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. The man smiled one last time and continued past Boomer and down the street, soon disappearing out of sight.

Shadow fluttered happily around him. **_See! See! There are others who know of the good you do, Little One._**

Ignoring the use of the ironic nickname, Boomer smiled wider than he had all day, stroking his thumb over the smoothness of his new gift. "I guess so," he mumbled. Truthfully, the man's words had indeed made him feel a little lighter after his blunder from earlier in the day. It was nice to be looked at like he was worthy of the title 'superhero' rather than 'idiot.'

He spent quite some time after that conversing with his insect friend, before Shadow reminded him of the curfew Blossom and Brick had imposed so they could all be ready for their nightly patrols. It had darkened significantly from late afternoon when he'd first arrived to the beginnings of nighttime. He bid his friend a goodbye and took off toward the Powerpuff abode.

When he returned it was dinnertime. Being his and Bubbles' night to prepare the meal the two chose to keep it simple and make spaghetti for their siblings.

As he worked on correctly shaping the meatballs, tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth as he tried to keep his concentration on such an undemanding task, Bubbles turned to him while she stirred the sauce. "Where did you go Boomer? You were gone for a long time." She looked a little sad as she said this, and Boomer was reminded of how he'd shrugged her off and basically ignored her the entire day. Feeling incredibly guilty, he lowered his eyes.

"I just went to the square to be alone for awhile," he said hesitantly, wondering if she would take offense to the statement. She didn't; merely nodded her head in understanding and returned to her task. He realized he had paused in his own, and inwardly cursed at himself. Multitasking was not one of his few skills.

Silence reined in the kitchen for a while before he broke it, carefully choosing his words and unknowingly stalling the preparation of the meatballs once again. "I…I know there have been a lot of attacks lately which hasn't left us with a lot of free time," he started, becoming nervous when she turned from the stove to look at him again. "But…uh…if you want to when we get the time we could…_go out_. On a _real_ date this time, I mean." His voice lost its volume toward the end, his cheeks turning a telltale shade of red as he averted his gaze.

All of the Ruffs and Puffs were effectively 'dating' their respective counterparts, but none of them had really taken the time to make it official what with their busy schedules. Boomer was offering to do just that, and Bubbles' delight was obvious in the way she squealed happily and ran over to throw her arms around his neck. He couldn't quite hug her back with hamburger meat covering his hands, but he managed to squeeze her to him with his forearms. Bubbles knew that the date would probably not be for weeks to come, but was still happy to know it was _coming_ at all.

When dinner was finally prepared the six teens sat around the table conversing about attack strategies, villains they'd faced and probably would be facing in the near future, and other subjects you wouldn't find normal teenagers talking about at dinnertime. Bubbles was very animated in their discussions and their siblings noticed. It pleased Boomer that she was so excited and lifted his own mood.

Predictably, it didn't last very long.

"You know, this isn't half bad," Buttercup commented, twirling her fork around another bite of noodles. Bubbles grinned brightly at the compliment. She had spiced up the sauce a bit and Boomer had added some seasoning to the meatballs for extra flavor. It meant a lot to get a positive remark on cooking from Buttercup, who was the best in the kitchen.

Butch snorted, and Boomer just _knew_ he had nothing good to say.

''Yeah, it figures you'd be good at cooking, Boom, when you suck at everything else."

Now, logically, he knew his brother probably didn't mean it the way Boomer would undeniably end up taking it, but Butch had been saying things like that _so often_ lately… The blonde Ruff tried very hard not to let what was said get to him, but could not help how he visibly wilted in his seat. It was enough that all three girls glared at Butch on his behalf. Brick merely shook his head, looking exasperated. Boomer wondered biefly if that was directed at him as well; Butch's words perhaps reminding their leader of what happened today.

He stayed quiet for the rest of the meal and excused himself when he finished eating, retreating to the room he and his brothers shared with the girls. He let himself fall back onto the makeshift bed right beside Bubbles'. The Professor had a rule about sleeping in the same beds, and even though the man was not here –being away at a conference discussing the Powerpuff Girls and Rowdyruff Boys living in his home; he believed it was supposed to be televised soon- none of them dared risk his wrath by disobeying. The man had a way of just _knowing_ when they were doing something they weren't supposed to, and didn't hesitate in grounding the boys along with his daughters.

Boomer liked Professor Utonium. The man was kind and very understanding of their situation. He was never unfair and had helped them in their rocky start at transferring over to the good side, as well as opening his home to them when they were effectively given the boot by Him and Mojo. He had no idea what Butch thought of him, but he knew Brick greatly admired the scientist for his intellect and his character in general.

The thought of his brothers only reminded him of what had gone on downstairs and the events of Mojo's attempt to take over the town again. He sighed, mentally tired, and pulled out the iPod he'd been given. He reached up into the small dresser Bubbles had beside her bed, grabbing a set of headphones from the top drawer. He wondered why the iPod didn't come with its own headphones but didn't give it much more thought, scrolling through the songs already programmed into it. Strangely, they were all his favorites.

He picked one and placed the phones into his ears, letting the music lull him to sleep. It was only when he was in the deepest state of unconsciousness, and a song that spoke of earning ackowledgement from those around you played from his gifted music player, that the music began to affect his unconscious state.

Boomer dreamt of the successful takedown of many monsters, his brothers watching in awe, Blossom and Buttercup looking proud, and Bubbles cheering him on in the background.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for his dreams to warp themselves into something more sinister. It told of him taking down his brothers, viciously beating them into the ground. He laughed maniacally, thinking that he'd finally won. In a small corner of his mind, he wondered when it had become a competition.

When he awoke the next morning he would remember nothing of his dreams.

* * *

><p>AN: Here's the new story! It's based on Idiosyncrasy's prompt 'Emotionless.' I hope it's worth the time spent coming up with it.


	2. His Worth

**Title:** Emotionless  
><strong>Chapter Two: <strong>His Worth

_**Standard Disclaimers Apply**_

Bubbles allowed her eyes to flutter open gradually, stifling a yawn as she did so. Blinking up at the ceiling hazily for a few moments she waited for her body to finish waking itself up. She turned her head to the side slowly, this time unable to muffle the yawn that caused her mouth to stretch wide and made her jaw sore. Her alarm clock read that it was ten in the morning.

_Blossom and Brick are sure to be up by now,_ she thought as she raised herself into a sitting position, allowing the sheets to pool around her waist as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and scratched her scalp. She was correct in her assumption; other than herself and Boomer, only Buttercup and Butch remained in the room.

She glanced down to the floor beside her bed where her male counterpart snoozed away, her headphones still snug in his ears. She hadn't had the heart to wake him last night when they went out on patrol, so she'd left him to sleep and made up an excuse for their siblings.

She watched as he scrunched up his nose in a cute fashion, mumbling incoherently to himself as his face relaxed once again.

Acting on her sudden impulse, she climbed out of her bed carefully so as not to wake him and knelt down at his side. Ever so slowly, she raised herself onto all fours and positioned herself over him before carefully lowering herself down on the Ruff until she straddled him.

She brushed her lips over his which were set in a childish pout from whatever strange dreams he was having. They parted slightly at her touch, which only aided her in deepening the kiss. Boomer kissed her back in his sleep, sluggishly wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her down against his chest.

"Bubbles…" He mumbled into her mouth and she giggled. The sound must have stolen the last vestiges of sleep from him for his eyebrows dipped in confusion and his eyes opened to half-mast. The blue orbs widened and his face flushed an adorable light pink that she could feel as it added warmth to her own cheeks. His hands that had been previously traveling beneath her shirt and smoothing over her stomach stalled in their movement as he looked up at her with embarrassed astonishment.

She broke their kiss and sat up completely on his stomach, smiling down at him softly as her eyes sparkled with glee. He blinked slowly and swallowed, clearing his throat as he sat up as well, letting her slide down his midsection to rest over his thighs. "Wow," he said, his cheeks reddening even as a light smile spread onto his face.

She giggled again as she stood up, happy to have improved his mood after yesterdays ordeal. She gave him a hand up off the floor and he brought her close again, his mouth inches from her ear as he suggested in a flirtatious whisper, "How about we go on that date _tonight_?"

Her insides threatened to burst from the joy she felt, but she reined it in enough to ask with a flicker of doubt, "What if there's an emergency?" She felt him place his face lightly against her own, making it hard for her to remember what she had been so concerned about only a moment ago.

"Then we'll reschedule. Let's at least try, okay?" He pleaded, and there was no possible way she could say no when she was wrapped as she was in his embrace.

When he eventually let her go so he could get dressed she ran down the stairs and threw herself into the kitchen where her sister sat at the table with Brick. The two were going over the summer's homework they had finished weeks ago but had yet to check.

She grabbed her sister by the shoulders and turned her around abruptly to face her. Blossom gave her a startled look and Brick raised an eyebrow at the two of them from the other side of the table. "What's got you so excited?" The red Ruff asked.

"Boomer and I are going on a date!" She practically screamed at him, then she turned back to her sister who winced at her volume. "I need you to come dress shopping with me!"

"Sure, Bubbles," Blossom agreed, glancing forlornly at her homework. She supposed it could always wait until she got back.

Brick shook his head at the two of them.

* * *

><p>The mall was only somewhat crowded when they arrived there. The two of them perused the displays of clothing stores but as of yet nothing had jumped out to catch their intrigue.<p>

They walked in silence for a while, enjoying one another's company for it was rare that any of the girls got to spend time alone with each other these days with all of the recent attacks, their individual activities, and the boys to distract them.

After some time of aimless wandering, Blossom spoke up with a question that had been bugging her for a rather long while. "How do you get Boomer to be so romantic, Bubbles? Brick is about as passionate as his namesake implies." She frowned as she told the last bit.

Bubbles looked off thoughtfully. Boomer had not always been the romantic type either, she remembered. In fact, when they had first started 'dating' her cute blonde hadn't known a thing about romance. It took long heartfelt talks about what they both would like to get out of their relationship together and what they would like the other to do for them before any ground could be reached in that area. Magazines helped rather well too.

For her answer she replied, "Boomer has always been sweet, if not a little naïve. A lot of our problems in the beginning were easily settled when I learned to interpret when he was trying to be affectionate. Since Boomer hadn't ever really shown much affection for anyone in his life before, he did it in some strange ways. I kind of just gave him examples of what I wanted him to do and he caught on fairly quickly…" She blushed a bit at the end of her explanation, her mind referring back to some of those 'examples.'

Blossom looked very contemplative on what she'd been told, most likely going over every detail in her head on how best to apply the new information to her situation. "Alright," she said finally, smiling slyly at the notion of giving Brick examples on how to be affectionate with her.

Bubbles winked at her, "Make sure to keep an eye out on what he does when he's with you. Anything could be a sign."

Blossom nodded seriously, storing the new advice into her head as well and cataloging it for later reference. Bubbles could be very knowledgeable when it came to people and their idiosyncrasies.

Finally, after nearly an hour spent searching, the perfect dress for Bubbles to wear on her date was found. Bubbles had only just returned from the dressing rooms with the intention of buying the clothing when the building began to tremble. The south wall of the mall was completely taken out by the giant sweep of a tale belonging to a monster they'd never seen before.

Bubbles was forced to ask the employee at the counter to hold the dress for her as she and her sister raced to stop the disturbance as their fellow mall patrons ran from the building in terror. This was cause for distraction as they had to make sure everyone was evacuated safely.

Suddenly, the two girls were caught in the tight and uncomfortably scaly grip of the monster's clawed grasp.

Their cell phones went off seconds later; most likely the mayor calling to warn them of the danger they were already presently in the clutches of. The monster was deemed stronger than its many predecessors when it became obvious that their struggles to escape were useless, so their only hope was that their sister and the boys would come to aid them as quickly as possible.

Blossom was tense and more than a little peeved with her inability to fight, but already had a plan blooming in her mind on how to take down their newest enemy. Unfortunately she could do nothing trapped as she was in its hold.

The monster pulled them completely out of the mall and into the open air; much like tiny dolls from a toy house. It held the two of them over its wide maw in preparation to feast on them. They thrashed about frantically; Bubbles tried to hurt him with her laser vision but the monster ignored the heat that was barely more than a tickle on its tough scales.

Just as a long forked tongue looked ready to shoot out and wrap them up in its wet confines a streak of blue overhead caught their attention.

"Boomer!" Bubbles shouted, smiling with relief. The blonde Ruff swooped in from behind the monster like a true hero. Many of those still left in the mall that could see him coming cheered loudly at his arrival.

Boomer nailed the monster with a direct kick above its shoulder blades where the scales were coincidentally softer. The monster roared in outrage and pain, releasing Bubbles and Blossom to better swat at Boomer with both its arms in retaliation of the surprise attack the Ruff had dealt him.

Blossom opened her mouth to give commands on how best to defeat the massive troublemaker, but Boomer went racing blindly back at it.

"What does he think he's doing?" Blossom yelled indignantly when she realized she was being ignored, watching as Boomer dodged a swipe, only to be beaten to the ground by a surprise hit from the monster's tail. Bubbles winced sympathetically as Boomer crashed into a blue minivan. She hoped the owner had suitable insurance as the vehicle would never be salvaged.

The Rowdyruff burst out of the wreckage with renewed vigor, going straight for the monster's face. Their eyes widened in horror. "Boomer, NO!" They tried to warn him, but he was too intent on putting a stop to the menace to hear anything spoken to him.

Rather abruptly, the beast opened its mouth right as Boomer was on top of him. The teen barely had time to part his lips in surprise before everything went dark.

The monster made an exaggerated swallowing motion; even going so far as to pat its belly in satisfaction as it sneered down at the two Powerpuffs. Bubbles' hands were locked over her mouth with obvious revulsion. Her sister had a firm grip on the back of her shirt to keep her from flying in without thinking to save Boomer like she wanted.

"I…don't think he can break out of there on his own; the scales look like they might be too strong for him," Blossom assessed, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to figure out a way to save him with just herself and her sister.

Fortunately she wouldn't have two; streaks of light and dark green, led by one of bright red were speedying towards them.

Brick studied the monster upon his arrival, "Impenetrable scales? Moves too fast then should be possible for its mass?" He concluded, raising an uninterested eyebrow at his counterpart.

Blossom nodded absently. "Boomer slowed it down when he hit it in the back…"

At the mention of his brother, Brick glanced around the vicinity. When he could not spot the remaining member of their team he asked, "So where _is_ Boomer?" He looked to Bubbles, who had yet to remove her hands from her mouth or even let her eyes stray from the monster.

"It ate him…" She whispered. How fast could something that size digest something so small in comparison? She wondered.

Brick's expression went from bland to absolutely livid.

* * *

><p>Boomer was seated Indian style with his arms crossed over his chest as he floated at a safe height above the stomach acid waiting eagerly for him below. It seemed only <em>he <em>could end up in these kinds of situations. _This never happened to Brick or Butch,_ he thought forlornly. Only him.

It didn't take him long to realize there was no way to get out of the beast's stomach. He'd tried flying back up to the mouth only to be knocked backwards by the damn tongue and bloody swallowed again. He got the feeling the monster was deeply amused at getting to eat him _twice_ by the deep and shuddering noises it was making that sounded far too close to chuckling for him to be comfortable with.

His only other option was diving through the stomach acid –with the hopes that his body was resilient enough to survive that- and trying to get out the _other way_. That sure as hell wasn't about to happen. He preferred an option that wouldn't leave him irreparably scarred for life, thank you.

He couldn't hear much from inside the belly of the beast besides the disturbing gurgling noises coming from all directions. He wondered if the monster had indigestion; it wouldn't have been very surprising judging by what it ate. He could've sworn he'd spied a sewer lid floating somewhere below him before it disintegrated.

The full weight of his situation swiftly crashed upon him, and he could have screamed in frustration. Once again he was completely _useless_! Here he was, contemplating what the damn thing ate –besides people, obviously- while the girls were probably calling the rest of the team in on order to save him as if he were some damsel in fucking distress.

The interior of the monster shook violently. It didn't affect him much because he was floating, but he still noticed as the acid splashed upwards and the inner walls of the stomach looked as if something was slamming into them repeatedly. It didn't take much for him to be able to guess the cause. He tightened his arms across his chest, tensed and prepared to fly toward freedom the second he was given the chance.

His chance came with what Boomer assumed to be a harsh punch directly to the abdomen, causing the monster to gasp long enough for Boomer to fly out of the mouth in a burst of blue energy.

He was greeted with the overly ecstatic welcoming of Brick's fist connecting with his jaw.

It knocked him back several feet until he was able to stop himself. He rubbed at the fading bruise, knowing it was meant to be a punishment for his stupidity and not just a brutal hit to the face. If the latter had been the case his jaw would've been much more than simply _bruised_.

Behind him he could hear the monster's final cry as Butch, Buttercup, and Blossom finished it off. Bubbles floated off to the side of Brick, watching the two of them apprehensively.

Brick heaved a very deep breath in order to let go of some of his ever mounting irritation, knowing he needed to be levelheaded when dealing with his youngest brother lest he do something he would regret in the future.

"The fuck, Boomer?"

That was honestly the best he could do at cushioning the question.

Boomer opened his mouth, then closed it. When he opened it again his answer was not one that Brick was willing to accept. "I'm sorry," the blue ruff whispered, looking down dejectedly at the deserted street.

Brick's right eye twitched. He was about to lose it and he _knew_ it. He was saved from what was sure to be a horrible bout of cursing when the rest of their team flew up to join them, having already tossed the monster into the harbor there by allowing it to flee back to whence it came.

"Now _that's _what I call a monster! My knuckles are fucking _bleeding_ and I think I even broke my right wrist with that last hit!" Butch shouted, examining his injured wrist with a proud smirk. "Impenetrable scales _my ass_!" He gloated.

Buttercup and Blossom's hands were in a similar state, though Buttercup had a broken thumb and Blossom was sure she had fractured her entire left hand. Neither Puff seemed as happy about their wounds as the green Ruff.

Butch turned to look at Boomer, who was stewing silently over his failure to handle the monster on his own, or even cause the least bit of damage. The green-eyed teen's smirk widened at his brother's upset expression.

"Ha, and all you managed to do was get _eaten_, huh, Boomer?"

Boomer didn't respond to the taunting, inwardly sinking lower in his self-depreciation.

Blossom frowned to herself beside them. She knew Butch's statement was false; Boomer had after all freed her and Bubbles from the monster and had landed a particularly nasty blow which ended up slowing it down, making it much easier to defeat. She didn't voice her thoughts though; she knew from past attempts that any sticking up on Boomer's behalf would only result in more taunts aimed at the blonde, and she didn't want to make it any worse for him when she could see how badly it was affecting him. She would, however, either talk to Brick about his brother or handle the green Ruff herself in due time.

* * *

><p>In Townsville it was necessary to have permission from a parent or guardian to get a job when under the age of eighteen. Professor Utonium was effectively their legal guardian as of six months ago, however he refused to give any of them permission to work. Boomer supposed he could understand the man's reasoning; after all, it wasn't as if they could really be relied on to show up to work on time at any allotted job with them being constantly called away to save the town.<p>

Therefore, Boomer and his brothers made their money by doing favors for the citizens when they had the free time. The Professor had offered to give them an allowance (because they did have chores) like he did for his girls, but it felt wrong to them to take his money when they were already living in his home.

Anyway, Boomer had saved up a pretty hefty sum of cash from several months of painting fences, washing cars, and other such things. That was why he was able to take Bubbles to a predominantly fancy restaurant for their date…

In Italy.

Bubbles had practically squeezed the life out of him and caused him to momentarily go deaf in one ear with the force of her hug and happy squealing which may have had a tinge of her sonic scream hidden in there.

Their date had gone amazingly well, despite Boomer feeling extremely nervous the entire time as he had never planned a date before and was afraid of doing something wrong.

His fear turned out to be unnecessary. Bubbles had had a great time and had been attached to his arm since they'd left the establishment, cheerfully chatting about how delicious their meal was and the beauty that was Italy in the evening.

The dress she wore was a strapless baby blue. It shimmered in the light provided for them by the street lanterns and hugged her body in an especially pleasing fashion. It draped to just above her ankles, revealing the heeled navy sandals she had paired with it. Her long pigtails had been curled up and were tied with half done ribbons which she let dangle from her head to just below her ears. All in all, Bubbles was a vision and he hadn't stopped staring at her since she'd first stepped into the living room when they were preparing to leave.

Pictures had been enthusiastically taken by Blossom while Buttercup added embarrassing commentary from her spot on the couch. His brothers were upstairs, wanting nothing to do with the girls' –mostly Blossom's- gushing on how adorable they looked. He was even more embarrassed when Blossom had flattened down his hair a bit and straightened the tie on his tux, much like a true older sister would.

Still, it had been worth it to have Bubbles sighing contentedly into his neck as they flew home. She was pressed as close as possible to him with her arms around his neck and one of his wrapped around his waist, making it so she had her back facing the ground as they flew.

Boomer thought nothing could possibly ruin this moment, but as always some unseen force seemed set out to contradict him.

When they arrived back home via the window they could clearly hear the voices of their siblings arguing downstairs.

In the living room, Butch was shouting loud enough for the entire block to hear him, let alone the two blondes one floor above. "He's _always _messing up and getting in the way! Can't we just make him stay home or something when the big monsters show up? Let him handle the pathetic purse snatchers and other minor crimes and leave the _real fighting_ to the rest of us!"

Not bothering to defend their brother at all, Brick added with scowl, "Boomer's apparent lack of focus and his inability to follow even the _simplest_ of orders is becoming a problem. He's been doing more harm than good lately."

Buttercup stayed silent amidst the yelling, recognizing as Blossom had that the younger Ruff had been having a tough time as of late with his brothers' lack of faith in him. When she took the time to think about it, that was probably a large contributor to a lot of his blunders.

Blossom raised her voice, indignant of their treatment of their own brother. "We will most certainly _not_ make Boomer sit out all of the monster attacks. Boomer is a part of this team and I will not have him feel as if we have simply discarded him." She knew from past mistakes with her sisters that underestimating a teammate's worth could be costly, and she wasn't about to let _anyone_ on her team sit at home, forbidden to fight and protect their town.

The boys, however, only continued listing their brother's flaws as if they hadn't heard a word she'd said. It frustrated her and she clicked her tongue in annoyance before sitting down next to her quiet sister. She read the green Puffs agreement with her previous bold statement in her emerald eyes, which made her sigh lightly. At least she had someone on her side in this matter.

Back upstairs, Boomer was utterly devastated, listening to every single one of his failings being listed one after another by the two he wanted respect from the most.

He ripped the tie from his neck and tossed his jacket to the floor. He grabbed his iPod from Bubbles' bedside table and quickly retreated to the window, taking off into the night.

Bubbles didn't have the heart to stop him after what she'd heard. She figured he would probably want some time alone and busied herself with changing into some comfortable clothes to get ready for their patrol in a few hours in order to distract herself from the desire to fly down stairs and let the boys know _exactly_ what she had thought about their comments.

* * *

><p>Boomer flew level with the tops of Townsville's structures, trying to drown out the world around him as he sang softly in accompaniment to the music playing in his ears.<p>

He didn't know what to do with himself. His brothers had said that _they didn't want him around anymore_. Should he oblige and disappear for a while? Would they care if he suddenly just up and left? In the past he would've said yes, since he'd always known that no matter how they treated him –and they had treated him pretty callously-, deep down they had still cared about him. Now he wasn't so sure.

The music slowly became louder and harsher in his ear, fueling his emotions and making his melancholy transform itself into rage. Why should he care what they thought? What did their opinions matter, anyway?

A few citizens spotted him from below and waved up at him excitedly, happy to see one of their heroes. He waved back, feeling his anger ebb just as quickly as it had come. Who was he kidding? Their opinion meant _everything_ to him.

He looked out ahead of him, immediately coming to a stop when he found his nose inches away from a billboard he'd been seconds away from crashing into.

He floated back a few feet to get a better look at the image displayed, his heart plummeting down to his shoes when he processed what exactly it was he was looking at.

The upper torsos of Blossom and Brick stood back to back, wearing identical smirks. They both had their arms crossed over their chests and were looking at each other confidently. Off to the side in bold red letters were the words: Free IQ Testing. Are You As Smart As Blossom and Brick?

_No_, Boomer whispered inside his head, looking around and noticing that there were several more billboards lined up where he was. He floated over to another, this one with the image of Buttercup and Butch dressed in baggy green shorts and black T-shirts. They were wearing boxing gloves and Butch was punching forward while Buttercup had one gloved hand resting on his shoulder and the other on her hip. They were both smiling wickedly as they were known to do after a fairly difficult fight. The sign read: Be In the Same League as Butch and Buttercup! Take the Ultimate Boxing Challenge!

He hardly even gave it a second glace. Instead he flew silently to the next billboard, unsure whether he should be upset or awed.

Bubbles had her own advertisement. She sat wearing a gorgeous white sun dress that showed a fair bit of her smooth, creamy legs. A puppy was held tightly against her chest as it licked eagerly at her cheeks while she giggled. Beside her head he reluctantly scanned the words: Bubbles Loves Puppies! Why Don't You Adopt A Furry Little Friend Today?

To be perfectly honest, if he'd seen a puppy at that moment he probably would've kicked it.

Not too hard though.

There wasn't a single billboard with his own picture, though there were plenty more of his siblings and the girls. He wasn't surprised; it wasn't like he remembered ever posing for an advertisement. Still, it was fairly disappointing all the same.

He decided he should probably leave, going to the park since it would likely be deserted at this time of night.

The music continued to blast in his ears even after he'd long since stopped paying attention to the lyrics.

He wasn't sure where the thought came from, but Boomer somehow got it in his head that if he perhaps improved his skills he could prove to his brothers that he could be just as amazing as them. Then perhaps one day he would have his _own _billboard.

An unknown distance away, someone sat back in their seat and smiled devilishly at the image of the lone teenage boy walking aimlessly through the darkened park.

* * *

><p>Well, there's chapter two. Does anyone have any idea of what's going on yet, or am I being too subtle? I hope not; I like suspense. ^_^<p>

Now, if you would be so kind as to click the link the arrow is pointing to, it would be much appreciated!

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>l<br>l  
>V<p> 


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